


The Patron Saint of Captivation

by apurebloodwitch



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:42:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23534008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apurebloodwitch/pseuds/apurebloodwitch
Summary: "...and when he went by me I felt all hollow inside he was so beautiful." - HemingwayAlice Haversham has relocated to New York to serve the Manhattan criminal justice system, and Manhattan SUV in particular, in a very unique capacity with her very special partner. Experienced in her field and passionate about behavioral science, she is primed to facilitate and support the work of the unit. Neither she nor Sonny are prepared for the gravitational impact of their newfound proximity.
Relationships: Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr./Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> While there will be no scenes of physical or sexual violence depicted directly in the narrative, it will be an ongoing topic of discussion and of personal reflection, as a function of Alice's professional interaction with SVU. Therefore, trauma, ongoing trauma survival, offender behavior, and criminal sexual misconduct and abuse will appear thematically. That being said, my intention is to address the subject while avoiding graphic detail. I will add accompanying warnings to the specific chapters as they are written and posted.

The courthouse was beginning to fill up. Now that she and Menthon were situated in place, early, and she felt more collected having oriented herself, Alice was finally beginning to relax. With one hundred fifty eight pounds of freshly bathed and blow dried fluff laying across the cool marble floor in front of her, and the two seated in an advantageous place outside the courtroom in which their witness would testify, she settled back against the surprisingly comfortable wooden bench. She had felt her anxiety peaking as they were driven into Midtown that morning, rising and swelling dangerously toward the rim like the foam of a recklessly poured drink. She was overwhelmingly grateful that car service was a perk offered by her new employment. She wasn’t sure how she would have navigated parking and traffic, or the subway system, when winding roads through green mountains were more her forte. Every time she remembered that she was working in Manhattan permanently she felt queasy, until she reminded herself, as she did now, that she was more than capable of negotiating such a populated city. It was of paramount importance to her that she and Menthon be accessible to any clients who might need them, wherever and whenever that need might arise, and the notion of feeling less than in command of her surroundings was always of concern for Alice. The momentary dark cloud of distraction having passed over, she turned back to the hardback lined notebook she was scrawling in, bright cobalt ink flowing from the nib of her fountain pen on the weighty paper, trailing her hand across the page.

Sonny remembered receiving an email to the effect that the new program was being instituted, and had filtered the message into his “to be read” folder, but he hadn’t anticipated the level of intrigue he would associate with the arrival of the Courthouse Dogs themselves until he saw her sitting on that bench, sun beaming through the window behind her, igniting the red gold tones in her auburn hair.He had turned the corner, expertly negotiating around others en route to their own destinations, while checking his messages, and stopped in his tracks.

She reached up and threaded her fingers through her hair, tossing it a bit absentmindedly. Menthon raised his head and looked up at her, and Sonny, unequivocally blocking traffic, his phone forgotten in his hand down at his side, watched as she placed her book beside her and leaned over to scratch his head and rumple his ears.She happened to look up in that moment, and in raising her eyes met his. Generally disinclined toward acknowledging strange men, especially those staring openly, Alice made the first of innumerable exceptions to follow and smiled, her dimples appearing on her rapidly flushing cheeks. Sonny, extremely pleased with this gesture of warmth and friendliness, grinned back in return.

Just then, Olivia arrived from the opposite direction, her eyes scanning just long enough to locate the Saint Bernard and his owner/handler. She commanded such attention in her elegant prowess that Alice’s attention was immediately diverted and she looked in her direction just as Olivia asked, in confirmation,

“Alice Haversham?”

Alice rose from the bench and stepped carefully around Menthon, smartly feminine in a calf length fitted cornflower blue knit sweater dress with bishop sleeves and box pleats at the hem. Alice reached out and shook Olivia’s hand, and as they exchanged pleasantries, Sonny saw his opportunity, striding confidently over to the pair and tucking his phone away.

Olivia was crouched down, petting Menthon as Alice related some additional details about the new service.

“It’s a fantastic program, something we needed,” Olivia was saying as Sonny approached.

Alice would kick herself for how utterly ridiculously she had conducted herself in her introduction to Detective Carisi; as he stood just a few feet from her, lean and utterly dashing in his perfectly fitted and well styled three piece suit, she failed to take the initiative and put out her hand and introduce herself, and instead, with a brightness to her voice and a repeat of the same, warm, flagrant smile she had given him only a few minutes before said only “Hi.”

He grinned, again. “Hello,” and then remembered himself, putting out his hand “Detective Carisi, Manhattan SVU. Call me Sonny.”

“Alice Haversham, Courthouse Dogs Program. I’m assigned to your precinct, with priority, but we’ll be assisting throughout Manhattan when we aren’t directly engaged with SVU.”

It hadn’t been her imagination. Aside from the firmness of his handshake and the surprising tenderness associated therewith, he had indeed, unintentionally, brushed the center of her palm with his fingertips as they pulled away.

“This is Menthon,” she said, gesturing to the dog, and Olivia stepped back to allow Sonny to greet the Saint Bernard. Alice watched as he crouched down and started rubbing Menthon’s face and neck.

“Hey buddy,” Sonny said. “Beautiful dog.” He was admiring the brand new navy vest emblazoned with the New York City seal and the bold white text designating him as a civil servant.

“Thank you,” Alice said. “He’s an excellent clinician. We’re very honored to be working with SVU.” She was so taken with how enamored Sonny seemed to be with her dog that she forgot to offer him one of the many hand towels she carried in her tote bag to protect his suit from the inevitable arrival of drool.

“Alice will be coming to the station tomorrow to brief us on the services that she and her partner can offer us,” Olivia said.

Sonny looked up at her, another smile delivered in her direction.

“Looking forward to it!” he said. Menthon nudged him with the top of his massive, blocky head, demanding further attention.

“Miss Haversham!” A man’s voice called across the expanse of the hall. Sonny tried to hide his smirk. Miss, he thought. Miss. Good.

The three turned to the sound of the voice and a middle aged man waved to her, his other hand occupied in the grip of a little girl in a pale pink lightweight spring jacket, a woman following closely behind. Rafael Barba’s colleague, prosecutor Lana Shore, had wasted no time in enlisting the help of the new Courthouse Dogs program in helping her witness, Emeline Gray, six, who had watched a shooting unfold in the street below her bedroom window and was to give her testimony that day.

Alice gestured to them to come toward her, and Sonny and Olivia stepped to the side.

“We all officially start tomorrow, and Lucky the Lab is assigned to the precinct this case came from, but we were available early.” The little girl skipped over, tugging at her father’s hand to get to Menthon, sliding down onto the floor with him and putting her arms around his neck. Alice watched with pride as he gently rested his massive head on her shoulder, tucking his head ever so slightly to offer her the security of his protection.

Olivia and Sonny backed away to allow the family to interact with Alice and Menthon in preparation for the trial.

  
“We’ll see you tomrorow,” Olivia said quietly.

  
“A pleasure to meet you both,” Alice said, and diverted her attention back to the family.

As they were driven east along the northern shore of the island, the windows partly opened to admit the cool, spring air, her interactions with Sonny playing out in her mind over and over on a loop, she looked down at Menthon, who was laid out on the bench seat, his head resting on her lap.

“Menthon,” she said, getting his attention, and raised his eyes to her.

“Hi?” She said, mocking herself, looking to him for confirmation of his disbelief at her foolishness. Alice Haversham, Master of Science in Clinical Psychology, highly proficient handler and adept trauma respondent. She would make a point to make her credentials known in tomorrow’s briefing. She was aware of how bureaucrats could be dismissive or skeptical of the documented benefits of animals in trauma therapy, despite all of the research confirming how positive the impacts were proven to be. She did not necessarily fault hardened individuals who looked cynically upon something that may seem as trivial and frivolous as ‘petting a dog,’ as she had heard it referred to, but she was frustrated by the opposition that she had occasionally been given when she had gone to bat for it as a necessary service. Thankfully, she was assigned to SVU, where, she was certain, the particular brand of assistance offered by a canine clinician like Menthon would be appreciated, based on the delicate nuances of interacting with and serving special victims.

She rolled the window down further, breathing deeply of the briny sea air.

“Hi,” she said again, shaking her head and laughing to herself.


	2. Chapter 2

The Tahoe rolled up to the 16th precinct, Menthon’s enormous face filling up all the available space in the Fram of the open window as he availed himself of the cool morning air. Alice gathered her accouterments, her own monogrammed tote bag and Menthon’s own canvas tote with his name embroidered on it. Leo put the SUV in park and hopped out, coming around to open the door for them.

“You really don’t have to do that…” Alice said.

“It’s okay miss. Best detail ever.” Leo was grateful to have been singled out as one of the seven drivers to be matched up with dog and handler pairings when the city contracted with his company to initiate service. Gotham Fleet was a premier provider garnering significant, consistent earnings among an elite clientele, and they were only too happy to take a tax break and the service contract with the City of New York, especially because it meant positive PR. Leo didn’t mind that his schedule was going to vary, or that he could potentially be called in the middle of the night to drive a significant distance, the mission of the program was refreshing after feeling ignored and invisible much of the time. Catering to drunk executives stumbling out of his vehicle to the lobbies of their apartment buildings, and driving matrons screeching into their cell phones about how put out they were that their regular suite wasn’t yet ready on the way into Manhattan from JFK was not a lifestyle he would miss. He had been chosen by the company not only for his home location, close to Alice’s own home, but also for his patience, gentle temperament, and good nature. And he was an experienced, intuitive driver.

Alice hopped out, one bag on each arm, and motioned for Menthon to follow her, looping his leash through her free wrist.

“I will be nearby,” Leo said, waving his cell phone at her as he went back around to the driver’s seat.

Alice and Menthon mounted the steps, offering thanks to the officers and plain-clothed employees who were kind enough to hold doors open for them, and took the elevator up to the SVU squad room floor.

She scanned the squad room but didn’t happen to see Detective Carisi on her short trip from the hall to Benson’s office. She poked her head in the door, and Olivia looked up from her laptop.

“Good morning,” Olivia said, with a warm, welcoming smile.

“Good morning,” Alice replied.

“Everyone should be here shortly, I thought we’d assemble in the family interview room, just this way…” Olivia came around the desk and opened the door beside the one way mirrored glass and lead Alice and Menthon into the adjoining room.

Olivia opened the secondary door into the squad room.

“I’ll be back shortly, let me round up the troops.”

Menthon settled onto the floor and Alice put his things out of the way, shrugging off her trench coat and brushing off her skinny fitted black dress pants and emerald green crewneck sweater, the lightweight wool fitted but professional.She lifted her tote onto the table and started pulling out her enticement strategy: themed favors for everyone. For each detective, she had brought a stiff bottomed clear plastic gusseted candy bag, filled with her business card, wrapped chocolates, and a pair of custom ballpoint pens inside, tied closed with a red and white gingham ribbon. She lined them up behind her atop the bookshelf of file binders, out of the way.

Carrying his leather legal pad folio under his arm, Sonny strode around the corner and crossed the open common area of the squad room, unconcerned about the eagerness which might have been interpreted in his confident carriage, sleeves rolled up, jacket off, tie straightened, and hair freshly combed in the bathroom mirror. He paused for a moment in the open doorway, Alice’s back to him. Yesterday’s courthouse dress had offered the suggestion of some curvaceousness about her, but his estimations were now confirmed. He had deep appreciation for a woman with pronounced feminine contours and a certain softness in specific places. Alice fit that description entirely.

“You ready for us?” He asked.

Alice turned, happy to see him again, but admittedly slightly nervous that he had been the first to arrive.

“Oh yes, of course, please come in,” she said, feeling strange inviting him into his own interview room, and Sonny took a seat at the table opposite where she was standing.

He had read the email about the courthouse dogs the previous afternoon, but it hadn’t offered as much information about Alice herself as he had hoped, and he had too much pride to run an internet search on her just to satisfy his peaked curiosity.

“So, uh, you from New York?” He thought this an acceptable and benign enough conversation opener while they waited for his colleagues.

“No, Vermont,” she said, pulling up her sweater sleeves a few inches, suddenly feeling a bit warm. Something about the intensity of his unflinching eye contact and the softness in his eyes was slightly overwhelming. “I have family on both sides from New York so I’ve spent some time here, but I grew up there.”

“Ah, Vermont is beautiful. I’ve driven up there a few times.” Sonny recalled the brilliant greens and moody grey blues of the mountain ranges, the purity in the blue of the sky.

“It’s definitely a transition,” she said. “There’s such a density of people here. The biggest obstacle in my regular morning commute used to be the occasional obstruction of the road by agricultural equipment.”

Sonny laughed. “A rude awakening for sure.”

“Oh, here,” she said, plucking a bag from the shelf and leaning over to pass it across the table. He watched her hand as she reached across the table, spying the glint of a white gold medal on her wrist attached to thin, double-stranded red string cords on each side.

“Thanks,” he said. He nodded his head in the direction of the bracelet, “who’s your Saint?” He asked.

“Oh!” She turned her hand vertically and held it up so he could see. The image of a man in robes beside a large fluffy dog standing on a hill against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains with figures climbing in the distance was etched carefully into the small quarter-sized piece of white gold. “Saint Bernard of Menthon….” She looked towards her dog on the floor “His namesake.”

“What’s his patronage?” Sonny asked.

“Traditionally, mountaineering and hiking, but also skiing and snowboarding, apparently?” she said, with a slight uncertainty to her tone to suggest she wasn’t entirely certain that this was correct.

“Well, Vermont,” Sonny said, shrugging, “There ya go.” He smiled, and felt an opening to inquire. “You Catholic?”

  
“No,” she replied firmly and instantaneously, immediately stung by the notion that she may have been short enough in her tone to have given offense, so she tried to recover quickly, “it was a gift, from my parents.”

Sonny had registered the measure of her response and had made a note of it, digging into his candy bag, pulling out one of the pens. It was red on the bottom half and on the top the pen body was hollow, a Saint Bernard suspended against a background of an alpine mountain range.

“Tip it,” Alice motioned with her hands, and Sonny watched while the dog moved along the pen body.

He chuckled, “that’s great.”

The other detectives were filing into the room, and one by one Alice presented them each with a bag, shaking everyone’s hand as she was introduced. It was then her opportunity to address the group.

“Well, thank you everyone, I promise I won’t take up too much time. I’m Alice Haversham, and the Courthouse Dogs program is brand new, as you know. There are seven dogs in total, and the overarching mission is to provide comfort and support to victims and witnesses offering testimony in court who might experience duress or find themselves facing serious anxiety at the prospect of appearing in a courtroom,”

Sonny studied her movements, her expressions, taking note of the freckles across her nose, the way her hair fell, straight and glossy, cut six inches past her shoulders and parted on the side. He studied the shape of her lips, the generous bust that was impossible to ignore, tapering significantly in contrast with her waist. Occasionally, he darted his eyes around the table to gauge whether or not his colleagues were taking note of him.

She continued,

“We are assigned to this precinct specifically, and our role is designed to be a bit more involved than that of the other dogs and handlers, because we are available to you on-demand, twenty-four hours a day, beyond just courtroom involvement. As far as SVU is concerned, Menthon and I have been assigned here because it has been determined that the more delicate work that he and I have done in the past was applicable to assisting in the investigative process as well as during court proceedings.”

Alice was making a point to make eye contact with everyone in the room, addressing the group as a whole as she always did, but she feared that the way she almost brushed over engaging with Detective Carisi, lest she be tempted to speak directly to him for just a bit too long, and mightin so doing be observed.

“So, the interview process would be the primary scenario wherein Menthon’s involvement might prove helpful. In the press, these services are most commonly associated with child victims, but the comfort and stress reduction Menthon provides have application with all demographics, particularly in cases where there is a language barrier, significant trauma history, recent shock, and in cases where the interviewee has a diagnosis of developmental disability or has suffered from severe long term isolation or childhood neglect.”

“Could you tell us about the twenty-four hour aspect and how we initiate that contact with you?” Olivia asked.

“Yes. You can text me, at any time, and I will be in contact with our estimated time of arrival. If it’s late and I haven’t responded in ten minutes or so, please call. We live outside the city, but we have transportation arranged through the department of justice, which is a service that can also be utilized for witness transport. We did a study in Vermont wherein we examined the most stressful aspects of courtroom testimony for witnesses who were referred to us for courthouse dog services, and we found that traveling to the courthouse the day of, and the anticipation associated with waiting outside the courtroom to be called for testimony were frequently found to be more distressing to the individual than their actual time on the stand. So if we collect the witness beforehand we can attempt to allay some of that distress in transit and reduce the risk of individuals having a negative experience and potentially hindering a conviction.”

“So you’ll be working with the ADA’s office as well?” Sonny asked. He was attempting to determine exactly how much they would be seeing of her, and was deeply interested in the courtroom proceedings aspect of her involvement, given his pursuit of his law degree.

“Yes, we will be coordinating everything from interview assistance through to testimony.” Alice gestured to the candy bags. “Our card is in there, and our pens have my phone number on them as well. Any questions, please just ask, we’d rather arrive and not be needed or find a victim or interviewee isn’t responsive to dogs than miss an opportunity.”

“Ooh, Läderach,” Fin said, immediately unwrapping one of the square napolitain chocolates in themed wrappings with pictures of Swiss images, including Saint Bernards.

Alice laughed, happy that he appreciated the chocolate. “Yes! My mother has a country store in Vermont and she imports them.” She straightened up, remembering her determination to remain serious and professional.“Are there any other questions I can answer?”

“How can we judge if the person we’re interviewing will be responsive to the dog? How can we determine that we won’t push someone in the wrong direction if they have a phobia?” Rollins asked.

  
“It’s an excellent question, and it’s honestly hard to know in advance. My approach is to make Menthon visible from a remove in those instances, and give the individual the opportunity to express or demonstrate interest or curiosity from a safe distance so they don’t feel intimidated or overwhelmed. That’s why I’d rather come in and stay at a distance and find out we weren’t needed rather than miss an opportunity to establish a rapport that might be helpful to your investigation.” Alice appreciated that someone was already anticipating the nuances of their involvement.

  
Amanda nodded. “Okay. Great.”

“That’s all I have,” Alice said, “if there are no more questions?”

Everyone looked around at one another, and no one raised any.

  
“Well I think we’re all excited about the potential here. I’m going to steal Miss Haversham for a bit so we can go over a few specifics,” Olivia said, rising and proceeding toward her office with a gesture toward Alice.

Everyone offered their pleasantries and thanks and departed to see to their active cases.Sonny lingered, getting up more slowly than everyone else and putting his chair back with an entirely unnecessary deliberateness. He waited until she roused Menthon and looked up, catching his eye.

“Welcome,” he said “we’re uh…we’re lucky to have you.”

“Thank you,” she said, allowing herself to smile at him.

He gave her a nod and a warm smile in return and proceeded back to his desk with a bounce in his step.


End file.
